Rice straw is an important renewable resource. However, the special structure of rice straw increases the difficulty of microbial degradation. Thus, pretreatment is quite important for biological treatment of rice straw. The paper reviewed different pretreatment methods, including physical treatment, chemical treatment, biological treatment, and the combination of different pretreatment methods, etc, especially introduced biological pretreatment method and its related degrading microbial flora. The main aim is providing theoretical basis and technical guidance for the comprehensive utilization of rice straw resources.